A man that police suppose is a widely known sex-related killer that acquired into the properties of assorted women close to the Georgetown and University of Maryland colleges and raped them whereas they rested has truly been jailed.
Ernesto Mercado, 54, was butted in hyperlink with 5 home-invasion sexual offenses from 2008 to 2012 within the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The Metropolitan Police Department in Washington claimed that his DNA likewise hooked up him to a sixth strike in Maryland in 2009.
His apprehension notes an enormous break for cold state of affairs non-public investigators making an attempt to find out the male known as the “Georgetown Cuddler,” a label that spread among students additionally because it was generally slammed for showing to attenuate the severity of the assaults.
An investigator with the Metropolitan Police Department condemned the “cuddler” time period in a news conference Wednesday and claimed it created added harm to the targets.
“This man is a predator, and his intent was not to ‘cuddle’ his victims. Instead, his intent was to rape them. And it was only when they would wake up that the assault would end and he would flee,” MPD investigator Alexander Mac Bean claimed.
HuffPost linked to the lawyer supplied on courtroom information as standing for Mercado nonetheless didn’t acquire a immediate motion.
Investigators claimed that DNA gathered within the targets’ sexual offense forensic assessments was examined within the FBI’s nationwide knowledge supply of DNA accounts and was discovered to come back from the very same male. Because he actually didn’t have a legal background, however, they might not decide him.
Mercado was finally acknowledged making use of hereditary ancestry strategies, to call a couple of gadgets, non-public investigators claimed.
The legal actions Mercado is billed with occurred in June 2008, July 2009, February and August 2010, and August 2012. All occurred late throughout the evening or proper earlier than daybreak, Police Chief Pamela Smith claimed on the press convention.
The assailant acquired entry to the targets’ properties in numerous strategies, consisting of decreasing a house window show, wrecking a glass door panel and eliminating a house window cooling system.
Nothing was taken all through the house intrusions, non-public investigators claimed in courtroom information. In one state of affairs, a sufferer’s laptop computer pc and iPad have been nonetheless on the mattress the place she had truly left them previous to going to relaxation, cops claimed.
After figuring out Mercado as a suspect, non-public investigators tried to amass his DNA surreptitiously to establish if it was a go well with with the DNA positioned on the targets. They positioned a common practitioner tracker on his car and arrange a put up cam on the block the place he stayed in Arlington, Virginia, to trace his actions, nonetheless fell quick to amass a possible instance. Ultimately, they acquired a search warrant to execute a cheek swab onOct 1 and despatched it to a laboratory for screening along with a seminal fluid instance gathered from among the many targets. The laboratory claimed they matched.
Mercado completed from the University of Maryland College Park in 1995, authorities claimed, and stayed in College Park from 2002 to 2007. His residence needed to do with a mile the place the third goal was attacked. He has truly stayed in Arlington provided that 2012.
Mercado was billed with 8 issues of felony sexual assault. He may cope with a sentence of life behind bars if he’s based responsible of sex-related offenses related to 2 numerous targets, UNITED STATE Attorney Matthew Graves claimed Wednesday.
Investigators likewise suppose that Mercado could be hooked up to plenty of added legal actions that haven’t been linked “forensically,” consisting of assorted different home-invasion sexual offenses, thefts and voyeurism in Georgetown and College Park from a minimal of 2006 to 2012.
Investigators claimed they’re remaining to discover comparable unresolved legal actions in these areas all through this second construction and are asking anyone that was a sufferer of sexual offense or which may know pertaining to those or numerous different cases to get in contact with the cops.
Mercado is being held with out bond. An preliminary listening to is organized forOct 10.
